DBE in Louisiana - Recipe of the Month

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JANUARY RECIPE OF THE MONTH

In honor of Burns' birthday on January 25th, this month's recipe is for haggis.

Robbie Burns was Scotland's greatest poet. Each year his birth is celebrated with great pride and enthusiasm. "Burns' Nights" are held by Scots all over the world, and supper often opens with the Selkirk Grace, which has been attributed to Burns:

   Some hae meat, and canna eat,
   And some wad eat that want it,
   But we hae meat and we can eat,
   And sae the Lord be thankit.

haggis

HAGGIS

The first recipe is a traditional one . . .

The stomach bag and pluck (heart, liver and lights or other organ meats) of a sheep
2 onions, peeled
12 oz pinhead oatmeal (2 cups Irish oatmeal)
8 oz shredded suet (1.5 cups)
salt and pepper
a trussing needle and fine string

Thoroughly wash the stomach bag in cold water. Turn it inside out and scald it, then scrape the surface with a knife. Soak it in cold salted water overnight. Next day, remove the bag from the water and leave it on one side while preparing the filling.

Wash the pluck. Put it into a pan, with the windpipe hanging over the side into a bowl to let out any impurities. Cover the pluck with cold water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring the water to the boil. Skim the surface, then simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Meanwhile parboil the onions, drain, reserving the liquid, and chop them roughly. Also toast the pinhead oatmeal until golden brown.

Drain the pluck when ready and cut away the windpipe and any excess gristle. Mince half the liver with all the heart and lights, then stir in the shredded suet, the toasted oatmeal and the onions. Season well with salt and pepper. Moisten with as much of the onion or pluck water as necessary to make the mixture soft.

With the rough surface of the bag outside, fill it just over half full - the oatmeal will swell during cooking - and sew the ends together with the trussing needle and fine string. Prick the bag in places with the needle. Place the haggis on an enamel plate and put it into a pan of boiling water. Cover the pan and cook for about 3 hours, adding more boiling water as necessary to keep the haggis covered.

Serve with the traditional accompaniment of Tatties-an'-Neeps.

The following more modern recipe is from a great website at: http://www.robertburns.org . . .

THE (BAGLESS) HAGGIS

1/2 lb beef liver
2 lambs kidneys
3/4 lb lamb shoulder
1/4 lb beef suet
2 onions, minced
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup stock
salt and pepper

Boil the meats for an hour. Cool. Grate the liver. Chop the others fine. Chop the suet. Toast the oatmeal in a shallow pan in the oven, shaking occasionally.

Mix the meats, suet, onions and oatmeal together with a cup of the stock in which liver and meats were cooked. Add salt and plenty of pepper to taste.

Turn into greased Pyrex bowl. Cover with 2 or 3 layers of foil. Steam on a rack in a pan of boiling water for 2 hours, adding more boiling water as it boils away.

burns